


On My Own

by spookyspicedchai



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:20:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24731467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyspicedchai/pseuds/spookyspicedchai
Summary: There was that boy again.Levi watched him enter the tea shop with a familiarity that made Levi's chest tighten with a curious pang of envy? Longing? Four day's worth of hunger? He couldn't quite put a name to it or pin it down. It was a phantom hold that seemed to come and go whenever Levi saw that boy with the sparkling green eyes walking around the city's bustling main square with his two friends or running proper errands for his parents or visiting his father's office.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager, Levi/Farlan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	On My Own

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this while listening to the amazing Lea Salonga's version of "On My Own". It's Les Mis, so expect it to get dark =P

_There was that boy again_.

Levi watched him from afar, tucked in the small alleyway between the bakery and the butcher, waiting for Farlan to meet him. The day-old loaf of bread he had rummaged through the trash bins for was safely cradled to his chest.

It was a really good find, no mold or rat bites, just a little grubby from being thrown out with last night's leftover food and waste. The patrons who frequented the bakery would turn up their noses at bread that had been sitting out all day, even though it was baked fresh every morning. For him and Farlan, it was a week's worth of sustenance they wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise.

Levi watched the boy enter the tea shop with a familiarity that made Levi's chest tighten with a curious pang of envy? Longing? Four day's worth of hunger? He couldn't quite put a name to it or pin it down. It was a phantom hold that seemed to come and go whenever Levi saw that boy with the sparkling green eyes walking around the city's bustling main square with his two friends or running proper errands for his parents or visiting his father's office.

The storefront's big window displayed the shiny mahogany counter that stretched the length of the shop. Behind the counter, the back wall was fitted with an enormous, built-in shelving structure that showcased rows and rows of polished metal canisters. Each one was filled with a whimsically concocted blend of spices, dried fruit, and tea leaves. The flavors ranged from sweet and nutty to earthy and rich. And, all of them smelled divine.

The tea shop was Levi's favorite; although, he only dared to admire it's golden, inviting interior from across the street. The heavenly fragrance that wafted from its doors reminded Levi of the lavender oil his mother used to dab on the inside of her wrist and along the curve of her graceful neck every night. She would dab a small drop on his tiny wrist too, before leaving with a kiss, and Levi would fall asleep with his baby soft hands curled by his face dreaming of when his mother would return. When she fell ill one night and didn't make it to sunrise, Levi clung to that faint scent already fast fading from his cold skin.

It was shortly after her passing when Farlan barreled into the narrow alleyway where eight-year old Levi was being cornered by a bunch of older boys. They had found him scrounging for food on his own, back turned and altogether vulnerable. His hair had been long then, almost reaching his shoulders, and his once white night shirt was smudged in grime and soot hanging off one bony shoulder while the hem hung around his knees in tatters.

He had yet to acquire the quick wits and cagey callousness of a child uncared for. He was soft with his mother's love, having known poverty and hunger, but only once it had been diluted down into something much more palatable for a child to understand. He was soft and small and all alone in the world. Of course, they had found him.

In some ways, Levi was lucky to have only caught the idle attention of those boys whose intentions were clear cut and taunting. A lone child scavenging for food without another to watch its back in the Underground was dangerous. It was often said that children who disappeared in the Underground were better forgotten. Whenever it happened, people would look away, go about their business and keep their heads down. The saying haunted the worn streets, elusive as a ghost, but there around every corner, in the form of a hissed warning or the rounded shoulders of a child, mostly, in the haunted, resigned look about their hollowed eyes.

Levi hadn't known the lengths to which his mother had gone to protect him from the cruel harshness of the world when Farlan appeared like an angel to drag him into the light and save him from the unfortunate end that met many children of the Underground. The ashy blond had used the momentum to grab Levi's hand and run.

The cheerful ringing of a bell announced the boy's departure from the shop, a paper bag in hand as he walked away from Levi's hiding spot. Levi watched him disappear through the afternoon crowd when a large hand suddenly covered his vision. Levi's blood runs ice cold, chilling regret pumping through his veins for having allowed himself to indulge in such daydreams, when a husky voice is spoken by his ear and familiar hazel eyes appeared in his periphery.

"Surprise," Farlan whispered, removing his hand and looking down at Levi's frozen face with a softness he only ever reserves for the little raven. The taller boy grinned as he procured a sturdy knapsack; its shape and size bloated and lumpy. Heavy.

"You scared me," Levi murmured, the warmth of Farlan's palm lingered across his face as his eyes slowly adjusted to the shadows of their surroundings.

"I'm sorry," he replied good-naturedly, amusement in his voice. "I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. What were you looking at, anyway?"

Levi turned to look over his shoulder. The boy was long gone; the street full of strangers.

"Nothing," he answered. Farlan had come up behind him and Levi could feel the way his strong chest pressed against his back as they stared out from the shaded mouth of the alley.

Over the years, Farlan had grown several inches, his body filling out with lean muscles, while Levi's body refused to change and move into adolescence.

Levi loathes the limitations of his body, despite his friend never meanly teasing him for it. Farlan calls him cute and laughs when Levi furiously blushes and scowls at him for the rest of the day. Small presents and extra portions of food work effectively in sweetening his sour mood, and this only makes Farlan smile even wider.

And, these days, it was Levi's diminutive size and acquired stealth that had been proving to be more useful an attribute and skill when acquiring food that wasn't theirs to take. It was also much safer. His small body made good for slipping away in a busy crowd and squeezing into narrow spaces Farlan's wide shoulders couldn't anymore. Levi was fourteen now. Farlan sixteen, almost seventeen.

The tea shop sparkled in the afternoon sunshine; the gold letters gleaming on the glass window.

"One day, I'll buy you all the tea you want, Levi," he said, knowing the fragrant blend of herbs and spices reminded the young boy of his mother. "For now, let's go home."

Farlan took Levi's hand in his and led them back down the way he came. Levi followed the older boy further into the shadows, deep into the underbelly of the city, down cramped backstreets, opening up into a winding, crooked maze of unkempt, towering buildings, too tall and haphazardly stacked. They seemed to lean into one another, blocking the sun from reaching the uneven cobblestone below, turning everything dark and grey.

**Author's Note:**

> This WILL have more chapters, but for some reason when I check the box it doesn't give me the option to indicate multi-chapter =(
> 
> Maybe cus I'm posting from my phone? pLs hAlp >,<
> 
> Edit: omggg.... haha im dumb I was checking the wrong box LMAAOO omg why is the check box above?!! Hehe I'm still loving it tho and having the most fun. Figuring out how to post works on AO3? Living my dream ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ̀ˋ*:･ﾟ✧
> 
> As always, comments are LOVE~


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